PORT TOWNSEND — Fresh off a yearlong restoration process, the original, 102-year-old Haller Fountain statue is back in the public eye after resting in obscurity for nearly 15 years.
The statue — which has been known as Galatea, Venus, the Gilded Lady or other names since it was dedicated in September 1906 — can be seen at the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum at the historic Port Townsend City Hall, 540 Water St.
Badly damaged and fragile, the original pan metal statue at the fountain was replaced in September 1993 with the bronze version now on display at the park on Washington Street.
After the original statue was removed, it arrived at the museum, but not for a display.
“When I got here in 2002, it was sitting outside in the old prison courtyard,” said Bill Tennent, director of the historical society.
“A few months after I arrived, I made the decision to bring it in and put it in one of the old [jail] cells.
“It had become a statue for pigeons. It had pigeon droppings, nests and eggs all over it.”
The statue sat inside until 2007 when Becky Shurmann decided that it needed to be rediscovered by the public.
It took some work.
